Tipping the Scales

No other dragon has lived as well as Cayna.

Her ancestors were feared and hunted. Cayna entertains onlookers with displays of dragon fire, appears on talk shows, and patrols the skies along the border. As the Dragon Protector, she can be herself, and the American people love her for it. But something is missing.

It started with betrayal.

A hundred years ago, a friend bound her to serve the country against her will. Her clan escaped the same fate, but they've gone so deep underground that the world believes she is the last dragon in existence. She may never see her clan again.

She's not an adolescent dragon anymore.

Cayna has freedoms, but she is not free. She let herself forget that. When she's reminded of everything she's lost, she also realizes she's older and stronger now. For the first time, she has a choice: stay in the gilded cage or try to break free.

Perhaps it's time to stop pretending. She can embrace what she is meant to be, not what humans expect her to be.

She won't be bound any longer.

Danielle Ducrest is a Cajun woman with a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. She has been a writer and member of staff for literary journals and arts magazines. Her art has appeared in galleries and other venues in Louisiana and Texas. She lives in Lafayette, Louisiana, with her two cats.